Bloomberg’s list isn’t a ranking of economic strength; it measures the ease with which companies can do business, which is not the same thing (and which is why economically struggling Spain can rank ninth on the list).

Much of Canada’s improvement in the rankings has to do with its falling tax rate. Successive Liberal and Conservative governments have slashed the corporate tax rate, from 28 per cent in 2000 to 15 per cent in 2012.

"The tax cuts helped make investments more profitable,” Bloomberg says.

But the Bloomberg survey also credits Canadian consumers for the country’s positive business environment: Simply put, Canadians earn a lot, spend a lot and are willing to pay those higher-than-the-U.S. prices.

“Canada jumped from sixth place to second largely because of the receptivity of its consumers, measured by the size of its middle class, household consumption and GDP per capita,” Bloomberg says.